KUWAIT: The father of the girl whose body was recently found nearly five years after she passed away came forward to police and alleged that the victim's mother used to physically abuse her before the two separated. Kuwait police opened an investigation into the case in which a woman is accused of keeping her daughter's body inside their apartment for five years. The case was first brought to police's attention when a Kuwaiti man told Salmiya police station officers that his mother has kept his sister's body in the bathroom of their apartment for five years, and only skeletal remains are left.

In his statements to the public prosecution, the victim's father said that he and his ex-wife divorced four years ago mainly due to her alleged "harsh treatment" of their children. The suspect would physically abuse their children repeatedly as a way of disciplining them, the man told police according to a report published by Al-Qabas Arabic newspaper yesterday. The woman reportedly said during investigations that she locked her daughter up to stop her from "going out of the house repeatedly," saying that she failed to report her death when she discovered it out of fear she might be accused of killing her.

When detectives went to the crime scene, they reportedly found the daughter's body in a small room with a bathroom, which was sealed with wood and difficult to open. The room was not opened for years and was full of dust. Inspections carried out by detectives and forensics personnel of the apartment revealed that the mother had covered the central air-conditioning vents with plastic so that the noxious odor of the decomposing corpse would not reach the rest of the building. She then installed many air-conditioning units to maintain good ventilation and prevent the odor from spreading.

The public prosecution called the mother, her son who reported the matter and his brother for questioning. The prosecution later ordered the release of the son who sounded the alarm and detained his mother and brother at Salmiya police station until investigations are complete and the coroner's report is issued about the cause of death. Investigations are expected to conclude soon, Al-Qabas reported yesterday quoting sources familiar with the probe, noting that the case would then be sent to the criminal court.